Dateline Rice for Nov. 3, 2017

FEATURED ITEM

Rice fellow nominated to Energy Dept. post
A roundup of energy news includes the White House’s announcement that Linda Capuano, fellow in energy technology in the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, will be nominated to serve as administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the Department of Energy. EIA is the department’s statistical and analytical agency.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. A similar article appeared in Washington Examiner.)
http://bit.ly/2xXWoVd
http://bit.ly/2ytlvTV

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

How Trump’s tweets, outspoken comments affect legal system
Professor of History Douglas Brinkley is quoted in an article on how President Donald Trump’s remarks could impact court decisions.
Associated Press (This article appeared in more than 100 media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2AgDJp3

Graphene with carbon nanotube ‘wrinkles’ conducts heat better: Study
Pillared graphene would transfer heat better if the theoretical material had a few asymmetric junctions that caused wrinkles, according to Rice University engineers. Rouzbeh Shahsavari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering, and alumnus Navid Sakhavand ’15 first built atom-level computer models of pillared graphene — sheets of graphene connected by covalently bonded carbon nanotubes — to discover their strength and electrical properties as well as their thermal conductivity. In a new study, they found that manipulating the joints between the nanotubes and graphene has a significant impact on the material’s ability to direct heat. That could be important as electronic devices shrink and require more sophisticated heat sinks.
International Business Times (Similar articles appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2zaFWlN

Saudi Arabia has a new citizen: Sophia the robot. But what does that even mean?
Kristian Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in a story on Saudi Arabia granting citizenship to a robot.
WLRN.org (This article also appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2irr2j8

Artificial intelligence may not kill your job, but it could change how you do it
Moshe Vardi, director of Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology, the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor of Computational Engineering and professor of computer science, is quoted.
WGBH.org
http://bit.ly/2gZWsNf

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Houston leaders agree, bayous must be fixed
Phil Bedient, the Herman Brown Professor of Engineering and director of Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, is quoted in an article on possible solutions to Houston’s flooding issues.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2Aim9kH
Harvey close calls: Building a 3rd reservoir
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2zu8n13

Is Donald Trump the reason 2 powerful Texas lawmakers are retiring?
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science, fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and fellow at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted in a story on recent announcements by Reps. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, and Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas, that they won’t seek re-election.
Dallas Morning News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2xWWA6V
After 3 decades in Congress, Rep. Lamar Smith to call it quits
Austin American-Statesman
https://atxne.ws/2hAMliu
Lamar Smith won’t seek re-election, retiring from Congress
Texas Public Radio
http://bit.ly/2iqQt4i

James Gaffigan, a promising DSO music director prospect, led half a fabulous concert, and half that wasn’t
Alumnus James Gaffigan ’03 is featured in a story on the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/2lLYk1n

Israel’s new consul general to visit San Antonio
An article on Israel Consul General Gilad Katz mentions his wife attends Rice.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2zcmUvg

Houston Cinema Arts festival takes place Nov. 9-13
The Houston Cinema Arts Festival will include a screening of “Bodied,” a satire by filmmaker Joseph Kahn set in the world of battle rap. Rapper Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, former distinguished lecturer at Rice, will discuss the film with Kahn.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2iqGmMX

‘Policy to Practice: The Future of Social Determinants of Health Screening and Interventions’
Quianta Moore, fellow in child health policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, will speak at an event on social determinants of health Nov. 3 at Texas Children’s Hospital Pavilion for Women.
TMC News
http://bit.ly/2A294Lg

Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series
Novelists Claire Messud and Jennifer Egan will discuss and sign copies of their new books Nov. 6 at Rice’s Stude Concert Hall as part of the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/2ysx6T6

Houston’s historic punk-rock women heat up the stage again
The author description for an article by Kristy Loye mentions that she attended Rice.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/2iXhkZL

Mothers of a movement
Alumna and former Houston Mayor Annise Parker ’78 is quoted in an article on the 1977 National Women’s Conference in Houston.
OutSmart Magazine
http://bit.ly/2zuMm24

Gayest and greatest: Community
Rice was a finalist for OutSmart Magazine’s Favorite Local College or University award.
OutSmart Magazine
http://bit.ly/2yrzlpQ

Texas Master Naturalists presents lecture next Thursday
Alumnus Louis Aulbach ’70 will give a lecture titled “Surviving in El Despoblado: Stories of the Big Bend Settlers” Nov. 9 in Alpine, Texas.
Big Bend Now
http://bit.ly/2haHrf8

BROADCAST

‘Great Day Houston’
Lovett College senior Martin Rather and his grandfather, former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather, discuss the Rather Prize, a $10,000 annual educational grant to a Texas-based student or educator, along with Caroline Quenemoen, associate dean of undergraduates and director of inquiry-based learning. The Rather Prize is presented in partnership with Rice’s Center for Civic Leadership.
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2iVV6qR

Comcast Hispanic Hero Awards
David Medina ’83, director of multicultural community relations in the Office of Public Affairs, was one of 10 honorees at the Comcast Hispanic Hero Awards gala.
Comcast
http://bit.ly/2zbwSgi

KXNT-AM (Las Vegas)
A study by Rice that showed nearly a quarter of Mexican immigrants who live near the California-Mexico border without legal authorization have a mental disorder, particularly depression or anxiety, is mentioned.
http://bit.ly/2zu251r (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

WSCL-FM (Salisbury, Md.)
Karim Al-Zand, associate professor of composition and theory at Rice’s
Shepherd School of Music, is featured.
http://bit.ly/2zu54qF (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

‘SciTech Now’
Alumna Gilda Barabino ’86 is featured.
NJN
http://bit.ly/2iYxh1y (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

The neuroscience behind creativity and how to harness it
Anthony Brandt, professor of composition and theory at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, and David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, discuss their book “The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World.”
KQED.org
http://bit.ly/2zu70zn

‘The Now Cincinnati’
A story on a school for children with impaired hearing mentions Rice.
WCPO-TV (Cincinnati)
http://bit.ly/2AhP3RC (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

The new space race
An article on the shift of space flight to the private sector mentions President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “Moon Speech” at Rice.
Legal Business (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2AgYvox

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Desi Hip Hop’s Music 101 — How oil refineries gave birth to auto-tune!
An article mentions that Andy Hildebrand, whose company Antares Audio Technologies developed auto-tune technology, studied at Rice.
Desi Hip-Hop
http://bit.ly/2xWFlmc

Friends of Fondren Library BTSMW Lecture with Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Ph.D.
Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, professor of bioengineering and of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Rice 360° Institute for Global Health, will speak Nov. 8 as part of the Fondren Library’s “The Books That Shaped My World” series.
Eventbrite
http://bit.ly/2AiFrGA

Recommended Reads: Estimating out of class workload
A blog post by Elizabeth Barre, assistant director of Rice’s Center for Teaching Excellence and adjunct assistant professor in religion, is featured.
Threads @CFE
http://bit.ly/2yqiWSt

Weebit Nano: Achieving success with ReRAM
An article on Weebit Nano mentions patents held by Rice.
EDACafe
http://bit.ly/2iVGZ4R

Saint Louis Art Museum curator talks new Thomas Struth photography exhibit
Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts is mentioned.
Alive
http://bit.ly/2yrLYS4

SPORTS

Rice to take on resurgent UAB in Conference USA game
The Rice football team’s Nov. 4 game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham is previewed.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2h9jzsl

Ranking every team in college basketball from 1-351
The Rice men’s basketball team is mentioned.
ESPN
http://es.pn/2zceFBT

WKU takes to the road to face Rice, Middle Tennessee
The Rice volleyball team’s Nov. 3 match against Western Kentucky University is previewed.
VolleyMob
http://bit.ly/2A5i0zg

Astros DH Evan Gattis overcame anxiety and substance abuse to reach World Series glory
A story on Houston Astros player Evan Gattis mentions that the Rice baseball team once recruited him.
Rare Houston
http://bit.ly/2Aht2lZ

Houston Astros memories
An article on the World Series champion Houston Astros mentions Rice’s 2003 baseball national championship and former Owls player Lance Berkman.
Big Jolly Politics
http://bit.ly/2h1l6Nm

Texas men meet LSU in a final preseason tuneup (but shhh, it’s a secret)
An exhibition game between the men’s basketball teams at the University of Texas and Texas A&M University held at Tudor Fieldhouse is mentioned.
Austin American-Statesman
https://atxne.ws/2hBamG4

NEWS RELEASES

Baker Institute’s Capuano to be nominated to key Department of Energy post
President Donald Trump announced Nov. 2 that he will nominate Linda Capuano, fellow in energy technology in the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, to serve as administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the Department of Energy. EIA is the department’s statistical and analytical agency.
http://bit.ly/2lM5zpS

Wrinkles give heat a jolt in pillared graphene
Pillared graphene would transfer heat better if the theoretical material had a few asymmetric junctions that caused wrinkles, according to Rice University engineers. Rice materials scientist Rouzbeh Shahsavari and alumnus Navid Sakhavand first built atom-level computer models of pillared graphene — sheets of graphene connected by covalently bonded carbon nanotubes — to discover their strength and electrical properties as well as their thermal conductivity. In a new study, they found that manipulating the joints between the nanotubes and graphene has a significant impact on the material’s ability to direct heat. That could be important as electronic devices shrink and require more sophisticated heat sinks.
http://bit.ly/2hypwfu